Handsworth Grammar School musicians, family, and friends assembled for the annual Concert at the Ladywood ARC on Thursday 18^th December. A range of performances took place by students playing a variety of instruments; including three guitar ensembles and two keyboard ensembles. Many students showcased their talents through both duets and solos. These included dhol, tabla, guitar, and woodwind duets, and several solo performances on the piano, saxophone, clarinet, guitar and violin. Is there no end to our talents?

It was great to see so many year 7 students taking part in groups notably in the choir and the newly formed year 7 guitar ensemble. The penultimate items were performed by the school orchestra and included themes from two well know programmes – the orchestra just gets better and better with every year! This performance was really enjoyable and the quality reflected the overall standard throughout the evening. The finale in which all students united for a ‘sing-song’ put us all in the mood for the festive season and the start of our holiday.

Special thanks to Mr Ward, Mr Czepiel, Mr Knight, Mrs Whitling, Ms Vaughan, Ms Strudwick and Mr Matharu for their support in preparing everyone for the concert and to Mr Conway for being a wonderful compere.

Robert Frater 10A

The Winter Concert on Thursday 18th December (6:30pm) is rapidly approaching. The concert will take place at Ladywood ARC, Darnley Road, Ladywood, B16 8TF. Tickets are available in advance from the finance office at a cost of £3.00 per adult and £1.00 per child. There will be almost 100 students performing in a variety of ensembles and musical styles. Please come along and enjoy the musical talent of HGS.

From the 24th to the 27th of October a party from Handsworth Grammar School ventured off to the Ypres, Belgium. However, our experience of Belgium was far from just tasting chocolate and indulging in waffles. The trip’s focus was to learn more about the historical aftermath of World War One.

We visited several memorials. One memorial in particular worth mentioning is the Menin Gate, a world famous memorial which remembers soldiers who fought in the First World War. We were told by our excellent tour guide that there were over 50,000 names inscribed on the walls of soldiers whose bodies were not found or who were buried in unnamed graves, a fascinating however disturbing number. Every day since 1927 one soldier is remembered with the playing of the Last Post, and we were privileged to experience this on our second night in Ypres. Our hotel was quite literally across the street from the Menin Gate.

We visited several well known cemeteries such as Langemark Cemetery, which contains the bodies of dead German soldiers. Ploegsteert Memorial, Tyne Cot Cemetery and Dozinghem Cemetery were three cemeteries we visited to commemorate the lives of and lay down wreaths for Handsworth Grammar students who fought and died during the war. We felt extremely privileged and grateful to be a part of the school and could not help but feel a degree of sympathy and gratitude towards these “Old Boys”. Not only did we remember the pupils of our school but also the men and women who died and still die in war, and, in particular, their families.

There was a great deal that I learnt about the more practical aspects that soldiers had to endure during this historic war. For instance I had never appreciated before that during trench warfare soldiers would often have to fight in treacherous and diseased conditions. This was incredibly disturbing to learn. Boys our age and only a few years older than us were asked to fight for their country and leave everything else behind.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t all hard work and gloom, apart from learning about the harrowing effects of war, we were also able to unwind and enjoy our free time to pursue more leisurely activities. For instance, we were able to show our competitive side when playing 10-pin bowling, where we were annihilated by Mr Mohsin who did not hide his elation. We were also able to try the local food at different restaurants, shop around and try local delicacies. On the last day we were given a free day in Bruges which was a chance to look around a beautiful medieval town and an opportunity spend our remaining money.

To sum up our experience, this trip really made our group as a whole appreciate the long lasting and damaging effects of war. We were taken aback by the countless lives that were sacrificed during the First World War and a lasting and deep impression was made when we consider that pupils from our own school died for the sake of our country’s interests. I would definitely consider going on the next trip abroad and I hope this report has influenced you to do the same.

Joel Braich

14^th November 2014 was an impressive day for AS level Geographers. We attended a lecture about shale gas by Professor Michael Bradshaw of Warwick University.

The lecture was about why shale gas has been used extensively in the United States, the potential for it to be mined here and the possible advantages and disadvantages.

Shale gas is natural gas which is extracted from shale rock – nothing too controversial so far. But that poses the question ‘what is shale?’ and ‘why does shale contain this natural gas?’ Well, shale is clastic sedimentary rock composed of clay particles.  Natural gas in shale has, essentially, formed from the remains of animals and plants that died millions of years of ago – much like coal and oil were formed. This material was then buried, compressed and heated in the earth’s crust for a long period of time; this process is referred to as thermogenic methane generation.

Methane is a greenhouse gas and an important part of the debate as some believe methane is released during fracking.  Methane has 20 times more global warming potential than carbon dioxide, although it doesn’t hang around for as long in the atmosphere (methane about 10 years, carbon dioxide about 100 years).

Shale gas is found worldwide in large sedimentary basins which have been allowed to accumulate over millions of years.   Shale is the most common rock in the world.  However, not all shale contains enough natural gas to make it worthwhile to mine and so geological modeling in conjunction with drilled rock samples are important in helping us determine whether or not we should attempt to extract shale gas from a shale deposits.  This is one of the controversial aspects of fracking, you have to keep drilling just to find out if you’ll get any or how much gas you’ll get.  One drill could hit a ‘sweet spot’, another, nothing!

Hydraulic fracturing – or as it is more commonly known, fracking – is the process by which shale gas is extracted. Once a site is identified, the drilling commences. A well is drilled downwards until it reaches the target depth, the wellbore then begins to drill along a horizontal section. Shaped charges are then put into the well and they blast holes in the well walls to create cracks in the rock. Water, sand and chemicals are then pumped in at high pressure in order to expand and hold open the fissures in the rock. Once the water and chemicals are removed from the well, the gas flows out.   This process, as you can imagine, is one which has the possibility of inducing seismic activity and contaminating underground aquifers; two of the most controversial aspects opponents point towards, not to mention that it requires an awful lot of water.

So, with an upcoming general election, the fracking debate (or should we say ‘well stimulation’ as some American companies have re-branded it in the face of bad press?) is likely to become an electoral issue.   Where do you stand?  About 50% of the gas in your home comes from abroad; fracking could reduce that to 20%, thereby securing a better domestic energy mix and not having to rely on the likes of Russia for imports.  What about the tax revenues it will bring, not to mention local jobs and investment?  Or do you think that investment in renewables is a wiser step given fracking provides more questions than answers to the all-too-familiar environmental concerns posed by the burning of fossil fuels?

Zeshan Haider 12MMI